Goblin Slayer – Episode Two (Review)

Last week, the premiere of Goblin Slayer left many anime fans divided and even forced Crunchyroll to place a content warning on the video. In the follow up episode, Goblin Slayer takes a bit of a chill pill. Viewers are introduced to a woman that possibly knew our armored protagonist before he developed a desire to kill every goblin that exists. Goblin Slayer remains faithful to its source material once again but possibly eliminated another goblin rape scene that happens in the manga. This scene could very well happen in Episode 3 but for right now I’m grateful for a break. Episode 2 breaks away from the Berserk comparisons as it has hit me that these characters still don’t have actual names.

Berserk is full of grisly violence, consensual and extremely non-consensual sex, but there’s always been a story underneath all of it with characters readers and viewers get attached to. The lack of names makes me feel like Goblin Slayer primarily cares about shock value, fan-service, and violence rather than an actual story. This isn’t all that big of a problem if one simply just enjoys a well animated and bloody ride but anime snobs certainly could have a valid point behind their criticism. The motivation behind Goblin Slayers need to slay Goblins seems to be hinted in this episode and as tragic and valid as it may be, it’s a story we have all heard before. Episode 2 of Goblin Slayer is just as beautifully produced as the premiere but proves originality, a deep story, and characters with names don’t have to be present to be interested in seeing what happens next.